Once Upon a Time Season One
by HenryMills815
Summary: 15 year old Jacob wakes up from a coma in Storybrooke, Maine, with no memories. He befriends Henry Mills, the son of the mayor, who tries to convince him that the stories in his book are real. Will he believe Henry, or go with Emma Swan, Henry's birth mother, and try to convince him it's not real?
1. Prelude

**Prelude**

 **Part** **One**

"Hello, Madame Mayor. Yes, I know it's late, but you need to get here right away. One of the comatose patients is waking up," someone says as a teenage boy slowly wakes up in a nearby bed. He squints his eyes, despite them being already closed when lights suddenly turn on. After hearing footsteps walk away, he slowly opens his eyes as they adjust themselves to the brightness of the room. With his eyes now open, the boy sees that he's in some sort of hospital. He looks down and sees he's wearing a hospital gown and an oxygen tube in his nose, which he takes out. Next to him, he sees a man who is in the same condition he was just in just minutes ago.

As he's about to get out of the bed, the man who spoke earlier walks back into the room. "Ah, good, you're fully awake now," he says. He grabs a chair and puts it at the side of the bed and sits down, a clipboard in his hands. He holds out one of his hands towards the boy. "My name is Dr. Whale. Can you tell me your name?"

As the boy shook the doctor's hand, he tried to remember what his name was, but nothing came. In fact, he couldn't remember anything at all. He sadly shook his head. "I can't remember," he said.

Dr. Whale wrote something on his clipboard before speaking again. "That's fine. It's most likely a side effect from being in a coma for who knows how long. I'm sure you'll remember soon. Now, I have another question to-"

"Dr. Whale," a voice said cutting Dr. Whale off. A woman's voice this time. She was wearing a business suit, and it, along with her face, made her look like a strict woman. She walked over to Dr. Whale and the boy. "Why couldn't you wait until the morning to tell me about this instead of calling me at one o'clock in the morning?"

"Sorry, but I thought it was urgent that I call, as you told me to do if he woke up," replied Dr. Whale.

"Fine, who is he?" she asked.

"Uh, the thing is, he doesn't remember."

"What?"

"I asked him his name, and he said he doesn't remember. I was about to ask him if there was anything apart from his name that he could remember since he's been in a coma for a long time, but you suddenly showed up."

"Very well. Continue," she said, crossing her arms.

"Thank you," he said, then turned back to the boy. "Is there anything you can remember?" The boy did his best to think of something about his life, but sadly, shook his head again. Dr. Whale wrote something on his clipboard again. "Again, that's fine. Like I said, it's most likely a side effect from the coma. Your memories will come back sooner or later. Hopefully soon. Now, in the morning, I'm going to have you do some simple physical exercises and maybe some hypnosis with Dr. Hopper, our psychiatric, and have him try to get you to remember anything about your life. But, for now, try to get some rest. You may have just woken up, but you could use some rest. If you don't, then you'll basically become a human owl and sleep during the day, and be awake at night. Try to remember anything while you sleep. Good night." He got up and walked to the woman, whom the boy assumed was the 'Madame mayor' the doctor referred to when he was on the phone. They were whispering, so he couldn't tell what they were saying. After they were done, Dr. Whale walked away, while the woman walked over to the boy.

"Well, hello young man. I am Regina Mills, and I am the mayor of this town. I hope you get a good night sleep. When you are released from this hospital, I want to invite you over to my house for dinner, and meet my son. But for now, welcome to Storybrooke." She walked out of the room, leaving the boy to wonder about the town, and his life.

Later that morning, when the sun was up, the boy woke up to find a tray of food on his bed. Feeling his stomach growl, he began eating. He thought it was delicious, even though it was just some pancakes, some scrambled eggs, a couple slices of bacon, and a glass of orange juice.

As he ate, Dr. Whale came back into the room. "You're awake. Good. And I see you're eating. How is the food?" he asked.

"It's delicious," the boy replied, with food in his mouth.

"Good. Now, while you slept, is there anything you remember now?"

The boy nodded, then swallowed the food he had in his mouth before speaking. "I remember my name, but that's all I can remember."

"Well, it's a good start. What's your name?" he said, grabbing his clipboard again.

"My name is Jacob. Jacob Reed," said the boy, smiling at the fact that he remembers something.

"Well, Mr. Reed, I'm glad you remember your name. Now hurry up and finish your breakfast so you can start your physical exercises."

"Thank you, Dr. Whale. Who's going to be my escort?"

"Well let me see," he says as he checks a page on his clipboard. "Ah, here it is. Your escort will be a volunteer named Mary Margaret Blanchard. Now," he stands up, "I shall see you when you get back from your walk. Good day, Mr. Reed." Dr. Whale walks away, leaving Jacob to finish his breakfast.

After several minutes, Jacob finishes eating his breakfast. He takes the empty tray and moves it to the side of his bed. As he stood up, a woman with short hair walked in, carrying a change of clothes. She had a smile on her face as she walked over to Jacob. She set the clothes on the bed and held out her hand. "Hello. I'm Mary Margaret. What's your name?"

Jacob smiled back and shook her hand. "I'm Jacob."

"Nice to meet you, Jacob. I'm your escort for your physical exercises."

"I assumed that. Dr. Whale did mention that."

"I expect so. He is your doctor, after all. I brought you a change of clothes, so that you didn't have to wear that gown forever." She gestured toward the clothes. "The bathroom is down the hall. I'll be waiting right here when you get back."

Smiling, Jacob walked to the bathroom to change into his new pair of clothes, which consisted of a blue, short-sleeved shirt, a pair of black pants, and a pair of white socks. He looked in the mirror and smiled before going back to Mary Margaret. "My, don't you look better in normal clothes."

"Thank you. It feels better to wear them. So, shall we go now?" He asked smiling, eager to walk around.

She smiled back. "I can tell you're eager, so yes, let's go," she said as she started walking away. As she walked, Jacob followed her.

 **Part Two**

A couple weeks after meeting Mary Margaret, Jacob was standing at the checkout counter with Regina, the mayor of Storybrooke, who is with him to sign paperwork Dr. Whale gave her so that Jacob could be released. Since no one has come to claim Jacob, then Dr. Whale is having Regina sign the papers. After she has finished, she takes Jacob to her car and starts driving. "Well, Mr. Reed, you are finally out of the hospital. How do you feel?" She asked him.

"Well, to be honest, since I still don't remember anything other than my name, I don't know. Where are we going?" He asked.

"Well, now that you are no longer a patient in the hospital, you are going to need a place to stay, and I thought that you could stay at Granny's. When Dr. Whale told me that he was going to release you, and since I knew that no one's come for you, and I don't mean that in a bad way, and since you haven't gained anymore memories, I can't exactly send you to the foster care system in Boston, that wouldn't be right, so I thought I would just give you a room at the inn. For free, of course. I'm not going to have Mr. Gold have a 15 year old kid pay with money he doesn't have. So yesterday, I went into town, and bought you some clothes so that the clothes you're currently wearing isn't the only change of clothes you own."

"Thank you, Ms. Mills. I didn't know a mayor could do that."

"That's probably because you don't have any memories. And to answer your question, we are going to Granny's Diner for breakfast. I thought you would like something to eat before I showed your room at the inn."

"Thank you, again. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."

"You don't have to. You're just a kid. You shouldn't have to do anything in return. Ah, here we are." She parked the car next to a diner, took off her seatbelt and got out of the car as Jacob followed her inside. He sat down in a seat at the counter next to Regina. While waiting, a young woman with a red streak in her hair, and red lipstick walked over to the two of them and smiled.

"Hello, Mayor Mills. Who's this?" She asked.

"This is Jacob. He actually woke up from a coma a couple weeks ago. He was released from the hospital just this morning. He is going to spend the with me today while Henry is at school," said Regina.

"Well, nice to meet you, Jacob. I'm Ruby. So what can I get you two?"

"I'll just have some pancakes, thank you," said Regina.

"Could I have some scrambled eggs, and some bacon? I also want to try some hot chocolate. I've never had that before," said Jacob

"Really? You've never had hot chocolate before? Ok, is there anything you want with it? How about some cinnamon? I know that Mary Margaret Blanchard and Ms. Mills' son Henry like it," said Ruby.

"Sure. Why not? Thank you," replied Jacob, smiling.

"Sure thing. It'll be ready in a few." Ruby goes to the kitchen to get the food. After about 5 minutes, she comes back out with both of their food, and a mug of hot chocolate sprinkled with cinnamon. She put everything in front of them. "Here you go, you two. Enjoy."

"Thank you, Ruby, I think I'll enjoy it." For the next 15 minutes, Jacob ate his breakfast, which he enjoyed. While he ate, he didn't touch his hot chocolate at all, wanting to save it for last.

"Well? How is it?" asked Ruby when he took a sip of it.

"It's really good. I think I'll be having this a lot from now on," said Jacob, smiling again.

Regina stood up and pulled out her phone. "Excuse me, I have to make a phone call." She walked away into the next room. As soon as she leaves, Ruby comes out and puts an ice cream sundae in front of Jacob.

"It's on the house," she said, smiling and going over to serve other people. Jacob looks at the sundae for a second before eating it. He thought it was delicious, but he got a brain freeze a couple times while eating it.

By the time Regina came back, he had already finished the sundae. When she saw the empty dish that still had a bit of melted ice cream, she asked him, "What's this?"

"It's an ice cream sundae. Ruby gave it to me and said it was on the house."

"Well, that's awfully nice of her. So, are you ready to go?"

"Go where?"

"To the inn, of course, so you can see where you will be staying."

"Oh, right. I forgot. Yeah, I'm ready. And thank you for taking me here."

"You're welcome. Now let's go, we're going this way."

"Aren't we going to take your car?"

"No, this diner and the inn are connected to each other, so there's no need to drive."

"Oh." He followed Regina through the place until they were inside the inn. There, there was an old woman at a desk. When she noticed Regina, she jumped slightly since she didn't notice her there.

"Oh! Madame mayor! What can I do for you?" she asked.

"I'm here for that room I ordered, for Jacob here," she said.

"Of course. Here's the key. Room 2." She handed Regina the key to the room.

"Thank you. Come along, Jacob," she replied, starting to walk to the room. When they arrived, she used the key and unlocked the door and opens it for Jacob to enter. He walks in and sees how big it is.

"Wow. This room is big," he said.

"Really? This is as big as my son's bedroom. If you look in the closet over there, you will find your new clothes."

Jacob goes to the closet and opens it to find his new clothes, like Regina said. On the floor of the closet, he sees a small laundry basket. He closes the closet and goes to lay in his new bed. "This feels more comfortable than the bed at the hospital."

"Well, that's good, I guess. Now, I'm sorry to say this, but I have to go. I have a meeting I have to get to. For now, you can explore the town, and get to know people. I'll be taking my son to dinner at 5 before he has his appointment with Dr. Hopper. Meet me at my office at the town hall before then."

"Ok, bye, Ms. Mills."

"Bye, Jacob." She puts the room key on the dresser, then walks out of the room, leaving Jacob all alone.

 **Part Three**

Later that evening, Jacob was walking towards the town hall, or at least trying to. Since Regina left the inn earlier, he did what she told him to and explored the town so that he could get around easier without having to ask. Eventually, that is. Since it's only his first day, he's not going to memorize his way around in just the span of at least six hours. Right now, he's on some street, looking for someone to help him. He looks up at a sign and reads "Mr. GoldPawnbroker Antiquities Dealer." He sees that the shop is still open, so he opens the door and enters the shop. Looking around, he doesn't see the owner of the ship, who he assumes is Mr. Gold, like the sign said. Walking around, he looks at the various objects. He stops to look at a necklace, which is a small dreamcatcher. He picks it up and looks at it with a small sense of familiarity and with wonder.

"See anything you like?" said a man's voice. Jacob turned around and saw who he assumed was Mr. Gold. "I see you have a bit of interest in that necklace there."

"Uh, yes, actually. It feels strangely familiar even though I still don't have any memories of my life," replied Jacob.

"Well, would you like to have it?"

"I don't have any money."

"You could repay me by working for me. Temporarily, of course. What do you say?"

Jacob thought for a moment before answering, "Yes. I'll do it."

"Well, my dear sir, you are now the owner of that dreamcatcher. You start work on Monday. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, um, since I'm sort of still new in town, and I don't know my way around town, could you tell me where the town hall is? Mayor Mills invited me over for dinner tonight, and she told me to meet her at her office first."

"Actually, I can do better. I have a map. Here," he walks over to a drawer and pulls out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Jacob. "I'll let you have that for free. No payment required. Just follow it and you'll be sure to arrive at your destination."

Jacob grabbed the necklace and put it around his neck. "Thank you, Mr. Gold."

"You are welcome. I'll see you on Monday, then."

"Yes, of course." Jacob turned around and exited the shop. He opened up the map and looked at it, trying to find where he was and where the town hall was. After a minute, he managed to see how to get there, so he folded the map back up and put it in his pocket, then started heading towards the town hall again.

He arrives at the town hall about 5 minutes later. He walks into the building and finds Regina's office nearby. He knocks on the door and waits. "Come in," says Regina from inside. He opens the door and walks in. "Ah, Jacob, you're early."

"I wanted to be early so that I didn't get lost," he replied.

"Well, that's good. What's that on your neck?" She points to his new necklace.

"Oh, I got this at Mr. Gold's shop on my way here. He let me have it for free, but he's going to have me work for it temporarily for repayment. I start on Monday."

"Why did you get a necklace?"

"It felt strangely familiar to me even though I still don't have any memories. I only stopped at the shop so I could get directions here, but I saw it and I wanted it, so he let me have it."

"Well that was awfully nice of him."

"Yeah, I guess it was. So, uh, didn't you say that your son would be here?"

"Yes, he's on his way right now. He'll be here any minute."

"And if I'm correct, his name is Henry?"

"Yes, good memory."

"Well, it's not like I have any from before two weeks ago."

"True. Ah, there he is now, behind you. Hi, Henry."

Jacob turned around saw a young boy who looks 10 years old. He already knew that it was Regina's son. From just looking at his face, Jacob thought that Henry looked like as if he didn't want to see her, but that he was doing a good job at not showing it. He decided not to bring it up in front of her.

"Hi, mom. Who's this?" asked Henry.

"This is Jacob, the boy I mentioned to you? The one who woke up from a coma a couple weeks ago?" replied Regina.

"Oh. right. He's older than I imagined."

"That's probably because I didn't say how old he was. Now, are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go. You too, Jacob." She stood up from her desk and walked out of the room, with both Henry and Jacob following her.

Several minutes later, they were at Granny's Diner again. Jacob didn't object. He thought the food was great. He and Henry were now sitting across from each other in a booth, with Regina ordering their food. A few more minutes later, she brought them both a plate of hamburgers and fries. Their drink was a couple mugs of hot chocolate with cinnamon. Jacob smiled at that. He was starting to think that hot chocolate is starting to become his new favorite drink.

As they ate, Regina's phone went off again. She stood up and left to answer it. Suddenly, Henry spoke. "You can't trust her."

Jacob almost spit his drink out when he heard that. "Who? Regina?" Henry nodded. "Why?"

"She's evil."

"That's a bit harsh to say about your mother, don't you think?"

"She's not my mom! She adopted me."

"Have you ever met your real parents?" Henry shook his head no. "Then how do you know you're adopted?"

"Because my real mom is the Savior, and she's going to break the Curse."

"What Curse?"

"The one Regina cast."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"She's the Evil Queen!"

"As in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Henry, that's a fairy-tale."

"But it's true! She cast a curse on everyone in this town and now they don't remember who they are! You too!"

"Ok, there is no way that I can be cursed. I still may not have any memories after waking up from that coma 2 weeks ago, but that doesn't mean I'm cursed."

"That's because you're cursed memories haven't shown up yet."

"Yeah, ok. But I still don't believe that Regina is evil as you say. She seems like a nice woman. Very strict, but nice. She seems to care about you."

"No she doesn't. She doesn't love me."

"If she was the Evil Queen like you said, then why would she adopt a kid if she would never love them? I think she does love you."

"She doesn't, but she's still the Evil Queen."

"Do you have proof?"

As soon as he asked that, Henry reached into his backpack and pulled out a brown book titled "Once Upon a Time." "A book. What's that going to prove?"

"Henry," said Regina, now back from her phone call. Henry quickly put his book away so that she doesn't see it. "I need to go to another meeting tonight. I'll be back late. Jacob, can I trust you to take him to Dr. Hopper and back to my house?"

"Wait, what? We haven't even known each other for a day yet, and you already trust me to looks after your son?"

"I'm as surprised as you are. To me, you have a trustworthy face. So, can you do it?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Great. Thank you. I'll see you later, Henry." She bent down and kissed his head before leaving the diner. As soon as she was out of sight, Henry pulled his book out.

"I know a way to prove it. I'm going to go to Boston tomorrow and have my real mom come here, and have her break the Curse."

"Wait, what?! Tomorrow? Boston? Alone? You could get kidnapped or something!"

"I don't care! I have to prove that the Curse is real!"

"Henry, please don't go. I only just met you, and I don't wanna have to worry about you, or have Regina blame me for you disappearing. Just promise that you won't go to Boston?"

"Fine. I promise."

"Good, now let's hurry up and finish eating so I can take you to your appointment with Dr. Hopper." Henry silently agreed to that and continued eating. When they finished, they walked to Dr. Hopper's office. "I'll be out here waiting when you're done." Henry went upstairs as Jacob sat down and picked up a book to read. He's heard of it, but he's never read it. He heard that it was a good book, so he decided to read it. The book was Peter Pan.

Later, Jacob was so into the book that he didn't notice Henry standing there. When Henry cleared his throat, Jacob jumped in his seat slightly and puts the book down, keeping note of the page he's on. "Henry, I didn't see you there."

Henry smiled at Jacob. "Obviously. Now are you going to take me home or not?"

 **END OF PROLOGUE. NEXT TIME: PILOT**


	2. Pilot

**Pilot**

 **Part One**

Jacob woke up in his new room at Granny's Bed and Breakfast, still feeling tired despite him getting plenty of sleep during the night. He got out of his bed and stretched, then going to his closet to get a change of clothes. He chose an outfit then got dressed. He grabbed his room key and left the room, locking the door. He walked down to the diner to get some breakfast, which was already at his seat at the counter. He knew it was his cause his name was there. He sat down and started eating the food, which consisted of what he had yesterday. He smiled when he saw the mug of hot chocolate with cinnamon.

"So, you like hot cocoa with cinnamon too?" said a familiar voice. Jacob turned to his right and saw Henry sitting there, smiling at him.

"Oh, Henry. What are you doing here?" Jacob asked.

"I always get breakfast at Granny's."

"Oh. Wait, when we had dinner last night, I had hot chocolate, and you didn't say anything about it."

"I didn't notice since we were busy talking."

"RIght. About the supposed Curse that your mom supposedly cast."

"Yes, exactly. I'm also still planning on doing Operation Cobra."

"Operation Cobra?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm calling my plan on getting my real mom here and have her break the Curse."

"Henry, I thought you said that you wouldn't do that."

"No, I said I wouldn't do it today. I never said anything about not doing it at all."

"Henry, seriously. Please don't do it."

"I don't care what you think. You'll see that the Curse is real. You'll see." He quickly finished his breakfast and left the diner, leaving Jacob alone.

Jacob later finished eating his breakfast and walked to Dr. Hopper's office. He knocked on the door and waited. A few moments later, Dr. Hopper opened the door and saw Jacob. "Oh, Jacob. What a surprise. I thought we cancelled our appointments since I wasn't helping with your memory problem."

"I know, but that's not why I'm here. I actually came to ask if I could borrow one of the books from downstairs. I was reading it during your session with Henry last night, and I want to finish it."

"Of course. What book?"

"Peter Pan."

Dr. Hopper made a small smile. "Honestly, I'm not surprised at that. It is a classic, after all. How far did you get?"

"Not even one-fourth. I'm a bit of a slow reader."

"That's absolutely fine. Take it with you, but be sure to return it when you're done."

"I will. Thank you, Dr. Hopper." Jacob smiled.

"Please, call me Archie. Doctor is to formal. Enjoy the book, Jacob." He closes the door as Jacob walks back downstairs and grabs the book. He walks back to his room at the inn, lays down on his bed and continues reading it.

He finishes reading the book at around seven o'clock. Deciding to eat before returning it, he walked to the diner and at down at his usual spot at the counter. "Hey, Jacob. Nice to see you again," said Ruby, smiling and walking up to him.

"We only just met yesterday."

"I know, but you're a nice kid. So what can I get you?"

"Just a simple cheeseburger, some fries and a hot chocolate please."

"So you've taken a liking to the hot cocoa, huh? Well, coming right up."

"Jacob," said a voice behind him. He turns around to see Regina standing there.

"Y-yes, Ms. Mills?"

"Do you know where Henry is?" She asks in a worried tone.

"No. Why?" Jacob felt as if he already knew what she was gonna say.

"He's missing. He missed his appointment with Dr. Hopper, and I don't know where to look. Are you sure you haven't seen him?"

"I haven't seen him since breakfast this morning. I've been in my room all day reading a book Dr. Hopper let me borrow."

"Did you two talk?"

"Yes, but he didn't mention anything about running away."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ms. Mills. I would never lie to you." He hated lying to her, but he had a strange feeling that Henry would get back home safe.

"Ok. Thank you. If you see him, let me know. Please, I'm worried about him." She turns around and walks out of the diner. Jacob just sat there and started eating his dinner.

After he finished, he checked his fairly new watch that Mary Margaret Blanchard gave him a couple weeks ago. It said it was almost 8:15. He thought there was enough time for him to return the book back to Dr. Hopper. He got up and walked out of the diner and started walking to Dr. Hopper's office.

As he walks, he sees a small yellow car driving towards him. It suddenly stops and a woman with blonde hair and a red leather jacket gets out and slams the door, which street lights blow at the same time. "Look kid, it's been a long night and it's almost… 8:15?" As she says that, Henry gets out of the car as well.

"Henry? You promised you wouldn't go," Jacob said.

"That clock has never moved my whole life. Time's frozen here. And I know, Jacob, but I had to get her."

"Excuse me?" Said the woman.

"The Evil Queen did it with her curse. She sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest here."

"Hang on. The Evil Queen sent a bunch of fairytale characters here."

"Yeah. And now they're trapped here."

"Frozen in time, stuck in Storybrooke, Maine. That's what you're going with?"

"It's true!"

"I tried to tell him," said Jacob.

"Then why doesn't everyone just leave?" Asked Emma.

"They can't. If they try, bad things happen," said Henry.

Just then, Dr. Hopper happened to walk by them with his dog, Pongo. "Henry! What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

Henry kneels down and pets Pongo. "I'm fine, Archie."

"Who's this?" He asks, referring to the woman.

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home."

"She's my mom, Archie," said Henry.

"Oh... I see," said Dr. Hopper.

"Ok, you know where he lives?" Asked the woman.

"Oh. Yeah, sure, just, uh, right up on Miffin Street. The mayor's house is the biggest on the block."

The woman turned to Henry. "You're the mayor's kid?"

"Uh, maybe?" He said.

"Hey, where you today, Henry? Because you missed our session," said Dr. Hopper.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip."

Dr. Hopper crouched down in front of Henry's face. "Henry, what'd I tell you about lying? Giving in to one's dark side never accomplishes anything."

"O-kay! Well, I should really be getting him home," said the woman.

"Oh, yeah, Dr. Hopper, I finished the book. Here you go," said Jacob, walking up to him and handing him the book.

"Yeah, sure, well, listen, have a good night. And, uh, you be good, Henry." With that, Dr. Hopper walked away.

"So, he's your shrink?" Asked the woman.

"He was mine temporarily," said Jacob.

"Who are you?" the woman asked Jacob.

"I'm, uh…," he started saying.

"He's my friend, and I'm notcrazy," said Henry.

"Didn't say that. Just…he doesn't seem cursed to me. Maybe he's just trying to help you," she said.

"He's the one who needs help. Because he doesn't remember."

"That's he's a fairytale character."

"Well, uh, Henry, I'm gonna go back to my room now. Good night," said Jacob, starting to walk away, but Henry suddenly ran up to him and hugged him. Jacob froze, finding it strange that Henry is hugging him despite them only meeting the day before.

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Jacob. I had to do it," he whispered.

"It's ok, Henry. I forgive you. But do me a favor. Please don't tell your mom that you saw me. I don't wanna get on her bad side. And, please tell your birth mother the same thing."

Henry let go of Jacob. "I will. Good night." He smiled back at him.

Jacob walked away as he heard Henry and the woman continue talking as they go back in the car.

"Alright, I'll play along. Who's he supposed to be?" Asked the woman.

"Jiminy Cricket."

That's the last thing Jacob hears before the car doors close and it drives away. Jacob walked back to his room at the inn and lays in his bed to get some sleep.

 **Part Two**

The next morning, Jacob woke up like normal. He got dressed and went to get breakfast at the diner. After he ate, he decided to walk around the town again so he can get used to it more. As he walked, he spotted a familiar looking kid walking somewhere. Henry. Wondering where he was going, Jacob followed him. He followed him until they were at some sort of playground near the beach. He saw Henry sit down and wait.

"So, Henry, what are you doing here?" he asked.

Henry slightly jumped in surprise since he didn't see Jacob there. "Waiting for Emma. How did you know I was here?"

Jacob assumed that the "Emma" person Henry mentioned is his birth mother. "I followed you here. And how do you know if she'll find you here?"

Henry smiled. "I just do."

"Ok. Where's your book?"

"With Emma. I left it in her car when she dropped me off at Regina's."

"You sneaky son of a gun."

He smiled again. "I know." He shifted a bit so he could make room for Jacob.

Jacob sat down. "Hey, Henry, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why are you so sure this Curse your mom apparently cast is real?"

"It just is. I believe in it."

"Just because you believe in something doesn't make it real."

"That's exactly what Emma said yesterday, and yes, it does."

"Ok, whatever you say. So if it is real, how would you convince me that it's real?"

"I'll let you read my book. You'll see it makes sense."

Jacob looked behind him and saw Emma coming. He stood up. "Hey, Henry, Emma's coming. I'm gonna go ahead and go so I can leave you two alone."

"No, don't go. I could use a friend."

"You think of me as a friend even though we just met two days ago?"

"Yeah."

"Ok then. Guess I'll stay."

A few moments later, Emma walks up behind them and hands Henry his book back. "You left this in my car. Still hasn't moved, huh?" She said, referring to the clock on the clock tower.

"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle will begin," he said in an almost upset tone.

"I'm not fighting any battles, kid."

"Yes, you are. You're here because it's your destiny. You're going to bring back the happy endings."

"Can you cut it with the book crap?"

"You don't have to be hostile. I know you like me, I can tell. You're just—pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's okay; I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance." When Henry said that, Jacob suddenly felt bad for him for reasons he didn't know.

Emma looked at Henry as if she was thinking. "How do you know that?" she asked.

"The same reason Snow White gave youaway."

"Listen to me, kid. I am not in any book. I'm a real person. And I'm no savior. You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance. But it's not with me. C'mon, let's go."

"Please don't take me back there! Just stay with me for one week, that's all I ask! One week, and you'll see I'm not crazy."

"I have to get you back to your mom."

"You don't know what it's likewith her. My life sucks!"

"Oh, you wanna know what suckingis? Being left abandoned on the side of a freeway; my parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital!" Jacob notices that she sounds like she's beginning to cry. "I ended up in a foster system and I had a family until I was three but then they had their own kid so they sent me back…" She stops for a second and collects herself. "Look. Your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard. And I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you. But at least she wants you."

"Your parents didn't leave you on the side of the freeway; that's just where you came through!"

"What?"

"The wardrobe. When you went through the wardrobe you appeared on the side of the street. Your parents were trying to save you from the curse."

"Sure they were. C'mon, Henry." Jacob stands up as Henry does, who grabs Emma's hand and they start waking.

Later, they end up back at Regina's house. Regina opens the door as Emma, Henry and Jacob arrive. Henry runs inside and past Regina. "Thank you," she said.

"No problem," said Emma.

"He seems to have taken quite a shine to you. And to you as well, Jacob."

"He wanted me to be with him," he said.

Emma chuckled for a second. "You know it seems kind of crazy. Yesterday was my birthday. And—when I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, I actually made a wish. That I didn't have to be alone on my birthday. And then Henry showed up-"

"I hope there's no misunderstanding here," said Regina.

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't mistake all of this as an invitation back into his life."

"Oh…"

"Miss Swan, you made a decision ten years ago. And in the last decade, while you've been—well, who knows that you've been doing—I've changed every diaper, soothed every fever, endured everytantrum. You may have given birth to him, but he is myson."

"I was not-"

"No.You don't get to speak—you don't get to do anything. You gave up that right when you tossed him away. Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry, and you're gonna be held to that. So I suggest you get in your car, and you leave this town. Because if you don't, I willdestroy you if it is the last thing I do. Goodbye, Miss Swan." Jacob suddenly felt a bit scared of Regina and could see why Henry didn't like her much.

As Regina turned around and started to leave, Emma spoke again. "Do you love him?"

Regina turned around again and looked at Emma. "Excuse me?"

"Henry. Do you love him?"

She takes a few seconds before answering. "Of course I love him." She turns around and goes back inside, closing the door. Jacob looked at Emma and saw she looked troubled. He walked away with her. When he started to walk away to do his own thing, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Emma.

"How well do you know Henry?" she asked him.

"Not much. I just met him two days ago."

"Well, he seems to think of you as a friend. You might be his only friend, as Regina told me he's a loner and doesn't have any friends." Upon hearing that, Jacob felt more sympathy for Henry.

"I could see you looked troubled when Regina said that she loved him when you asked."

"Yeah, I am. I don't know whether or not to believe her, and I can usually tell when someone's lying."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to stay a week here and spend time with him, and see if she really does love him or not."

"That'll be nice for him."

"It'll be better if you help me with it."

"Wait, what? Why do you want me to help?"

"Cause apart from me, he could also use a friend. Make him less lonely."

"Oh. Ok, I'll help. I may have just met him two days ago, but I'm starting to worry about him."

"Good. What's your name again?"

"Jacob."

"Well, Jacob, I'm Emma Swan. Now, where do you live?"

"Um, the inn."

"Really, why?"

"Because I don't know if I have any family. Two weeks ago, I woke up from a coma, and I didn't have any memories. I still don't have any, apart from my name, of course."

"That's sucks."

"Yeah, I know."

"How about this? In return for you helping me, I'll do my best to help you get your memories back. How does that sound?"

"You would do that for someone you sort of just met?"

"Yes. I don't want you to not have any memories when there's the chance that you could have family somewhere here in town. I'd rather you have no memories and no family, then a family that you don't remember. And that did not sound as good as I hoped."

"It's fine."

"Well, good. If you don't mind me asking, how long were you in that coma"?

"I have no idea. They didn't say, but I don't think it matters."

"Alright, if you say so." The two continue walking.

Later that evening, Jacob and Emma enter the inn so Emma can get a room. From another room, they can hear yelling.

"You're out all night, and now you're going out again!" says Granny.

"I should've moved to Boston!" says Ruby, walking into the room.

"I'm sorry my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the Eastern Seaboard!" says Granny as she walks into the room.

"Uh, 'scuse me? I'd like a room," says Emma.

"Really?" Emma nods and Granny goes to grab something. "Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally, there's a upgrade fee for the square, but as rent is due, I'll waive it."

"Square is fine."

"Now, what's your name?"

"Swan. Emma Swan."

"Emma. What a lovely name," said a voice. Jacob and Emma turned around and saw Mr. Gold there.

"Thanks."

Granny opens a drawer from her desk and pulls out a bundle of cash and hands it to Mr. Gold. "It's all here."

He takes it without counting it. "Yes, yes, of course it is, dear. Thank you. Enjoy your stay, Emma. And I'll see you tomorrow morning, young man."

"I know," said Jacob. Mr. Gold turned around and left.

"Who's that?" asked Emma.

"Mr. Gold. He owns this place," said Ruby, watching Mr. Gold through the curtains.

"The inn?"

"No, the town. So, how long will you be with us?" asked Granny.

"A week. Just a week."

"Great." Granny grabs a room key and hands it to Emma. "Welcome to Storybrooke."

 **NEXT TIME: The Thing You Love Most**


	3. The Thing You Love Most

**The Thing You Love** **Most**

Jacob woke up to the sound of the clock tower ringing. Forgetting the fact that the clock hasn't moved in years like Henry mentioned, he groans from tiredness as he gets up and changes into some clothes. As he's walking

down the hall to go to Granny's diner again, he sees Regina, holding a basket of red apples. She smiles at him. "Good morning, Mr. Reed. Care for an apple?" She grabs one and hands it to him.

He accepts it and gives her an awkward smile. "Thank you, Miss Mills. If you don't mind me asking, but what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I came to give this basket to Miss Swan. I heard she had a room here," she said. Jacob noticed that she said it with forced kindness, as if she didn't want to do it, but was just doing it to be a nice mayor.

"Oh, well I'll see you later then," he said, taking a bite of the apple, which he saw was juicy. By the time he arrived at the diner, he had finished it. He thought it was delicious. He threw it away and went to the counter to order his breakfast. "Hey, Ruby."

Ruby turned around and smiled at him. "Oh, morning Jacob! What can I get you?" she asked.

"The usual. Pancakes, eggs and bacon with hot chocolate and cinnamon." He smiled back.

"OK, I'll have that ready for you in a few minutes." She turns around again and walks to the kitchen.

"Hey, Jacob!" said a voice Jacob recognized as Henry's. He turned around and saw him sitting at a booth. Jacob walked over to the table and sat down. Henry smiled at him. "So, are you going to help me with Operation Cobra?"

"Um, I haven't thought about it, but I might. Just to see if this apparent curse is real or not." He then remembers what he said to Emma yesterday about helping her. "Actually, yes. I'll help."

Henry smiled again. "Good. We could use all the help we can get on this."

Just then, Ruby brought Jacob his food. "That was fast," he said.

She smiled at him. "They were already expecting you, so they were just finishing up. Enjoy." She walks away as he takes a sip of his hot chocolate.

"So, what now?" he asked Henry.

"I'll be right back." He stood up and walked to the counter, and Jacob could hear what he was saying. "Hey, Ruby, when Emma gets here, could you give her a hot cocoa with cinnamon like me and Jacob?"

"Uh, sure," she said.

"OK, thanks." He walked back to their table and sat down again.

Feeling his hunger, Jacob began eating. Without him noticing, Henry took a piece of Jacob's bacon and ate it.

"So, Henry, tell me more about this Curse your mom apparently cast."

"Well, everyone here in Storybrooke is from a place called the Enchanted Forest. It's a lot different from this world. Everyone there is a fairytale character, like Snow White and Prince Charming and-"

"And the Evil Queen."

"Yes. But, anyways, the Evil queen, my mom, cast a dark curse on the entire realm and everyone in it, so they were transported here, where all of their memories were erased and replaced with new ones, so they don't remember who they are."

"And that includes me as well?"

"Yes, though I haven't seen you in my book. I've only seen the big characters."

"Big characters?"

"You know, like Snow White, Prince Charming, the Evil Queen."

Jacob mocks hurt. "Well, ouch. So you're saying that I'm not a big character?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"I suppose that makes sense. What big characters would be as young as me?"

"Peter Pan."

"But you haven't seen him in the book."

"I know. That's because he would be in a different realm than the Enchanted Forest."

As soon as Jacob finished eating, the small bell to the door rang. He looked up and saw Emma sit down at the counter and start reading a newspaper. A minute later, Ruby sets down a mug of hot chocolate in front of her. "Here you go," she said.

"Thank you, but I did not order that," said Emma.

"Yeah, I know. You have an admirer." Emma turns around in her seat and sees someone. She sets the newspaper down and walks to the person, who Jacob saw was Sheriff Graham. He hasn't met him yet, but he knows

who he is.

"Ah, so you decided to stay," he said. Jacob noticed he spoke in an English accent.

"Observant. Important for a cop."

"That's good news for our tourist business, bad for our local signage." Emma gives him a look for the bad joke. "It's--it's a joke... because you ran over our sign…"

"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon in my chocolate, 'cause most people don't, but I am not here to flirt, so, thank you, but no thank you." She sets her mug on the table.

"I didn't send it."

"I did. I like cinnamon too," said Henry, standing up as he says it, with Jacob following him.

"Don't you have school?" asked Emma.

"Duh, I'm 10. Walk me." He smiles. All three of them walk out of the diner and towards Henry's school.

A minute later, Emma speaks again. "So what's the deal with you and your mom?"

"It's not about us, it's about her curse. We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one: identification. I call it, "Operation Cobra," he said.

"Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairy-tales."

"Exactly. It's a codename. It'll throw the Queen off the trail."

"So, everyone here is a fairytale character, they just don't know it."

"That's the curse. Time's been frozen. Until you got here." Henry notices Emma is about to take a bite of an apple, which Jacob assumed is one Regina gave her earlier. "Hey! Where'd you get that?"

"Your mom."

"Don't eat that!" Henry grabs the apple and tosses it behind them. Jacob couldn't help but laugh for a second, but they didn't notice.

"Okay, um, uh, alright. What about their pasts?"

"They don't know. It's a haze to them. Ask anyone and you'll see."

"So... for decades, people have been walking around, in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious."

"I'd knew you get it! That's why we need you. You're the only one who can stop her Curse."

"Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?"

"Yes! And right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that." He takes his backpack off and pulls out some pages that have been ripped out of his book. "I took out the end, the part with you in it." Jacob

looks at the page along with Emma and sees Prince Charming putting a baby in a wardrobe, with the baby's blanket having the name "Emma" on it. "See? Your mom is Snow White!"

"Kid-"

"I know the hero never believes at first, if they did, it wouldn't be a very good story. If you need proof, take them, read them. But whatever you do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous. If she finds out who you

are... then it would be bad." The three of them arrive at Henry's school. Emma and Jacob stop walking, but Henry continues walking. "I gotta go, but I'll find you later and we can get started. I knew you'd believe me!"

"I never said I did!"

"Why else would you be here?" Henry said happily before going inside.

Just then, Mary Margaret walked up to them. "It's good to see his smile again."

"I didn't do anything," said Emma.

"You stayed. So...does the Mayor know you're still here?"

"Oh, she knows. What is her deal? She's not a great people person. How did she get elected?"

"She's been Mayor as long as I can remember. No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of.. well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book and now he thinks she's the

Evil Queen."

"Who does he think you are?"

Mary Margaret smiles and scoffs. "It's silly."

"I just got five minutes of silly. Lay it on me."

"Snow White." Jacob looks at Emma and notices that she looked slightly stunned, which he could understand why. He hears the school bell ring in the distance. "Who does he think you are?"

"I'm not in the book. Can I ask you a favor? Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy; do you know where I can find the doctor?"

"Oh, yeah, he's just across the street from Granny's. Why?"

"Just wondering. And I've gotta go. You coming, Jacob?"

"Actually, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to watch my lesson. Henry's in the class."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind," he said. As Emma left, he followed Mary Margaret inside.

"So how have you been doing, Jacob?"

"Uh, good. Still don't remember anything of my life, but at least I'm making new ones. Oh, and I got a new necklace from Mr. Gold's shop."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's a dreamcatcher necklace. I didn't have any money, so I made a deal with him that I had to work for him temporarily to repay for it."

"How nice of him. Oh, we're here. You can just sit in the back and watch." When they entered, Henry saw Jacob and he smiled at him. Jacob smiled back and went to the back of the room and sat down in a chair as Mary Margaret walked to the front. "Good morning everyone, we have a guest here today. His name is Jacob, and he is just here to watch. Now, let's start our lesson."

Later, they were outside doing a lesson on something. Jacob didn't know what. He wasn't paying attention much. He started paying attention when he saw Regina walk towards Mary Margaret. When she approached her, she cleared her throat. "May I speak with my son?"

"We're in the middle of a lesson. Is it important?"

"Do you think I'd be here if it wasn't? And what's Jacob doing here? He doesn't go here."

"He's just observing. I asked him if he wanted to."

"Whatever." She walks somewhere at a distance, Henry following her. They may have been at a distance, but they were close enough for Jacob to hear, but barely. "Henry, sweetie, I have some bad news. The woman who you brought here... she's been arrested. She broke into Dr. Hopper's office and stole his files. She's a con woman. She's trying to learn about us in order to take advantage of us. That's why she's sticking around. I'm sorry."

"No you're not," Henry said. Jacob couldn't help but laugh silently at Henry's response.

"I know you think otherwise, but all I'm doing is trying to protect you. This is gonna be good for us, you'll see. Things will be better."

In the distance, the school bell rang. Jacob walked over to Mary Margaret as he heard Henry said "I gotta get back to class."

Mary Margaret was gathering her things as her students walked back inside. "Oh, Jacob, what is it?" she asked.

"I'm gonna go for a walk."

"Oh, okay. It was nice seeing you." She smiled at him. He couldn't help but smile back.

"You too." He turned around and started walking towards the forest, but stopped when he heard Henry call his name. "Yes Henry?" he said when he was close enough.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going for a walk."

"But I want you to come with me after school. I'm going to take Miss Blanchard to the sheriff's station."

"Why there?"

"My mom was arrested. She broke into Dr. Hopper's office and stole some files."

"Wait, what? That doesn't sound like something she would do." He was trying to act surprised even though he heard Regina.

"Well, she was gathering intel for Operation Cobra."

"Okay, well, I'll see you later. I'll be here when you get out, now go back to class." He started walking towards the forest after Henry walked back towards the school.

After school, Jacob kept his promise and was waiting outside of Mary Margaret's classroom. When they exited the room, Henry smiled. "You came!"

"Well, duh. I made a promise. I'm keeping it."

"Well, come on! Let's go!" He grabbed both Jacob and Mary Margaret's hands and started pulling them. When they got to the sheriff's station, Henry ran inside to where they had the cells. "Hey!" He runs over to Emma.

"Henry! Henry, what are you doing here?" asked Sheriff Graham.

"His mother told him what happened," Mary Margaret said.

"Of course she did." She looks at Henry. "Henry, I don't know what she said-"

"You're a genius!" he said.

"What?"

"I know what you were up to." Emma gave him a confused look. "You were gathering intel. For Operation Cobra." He whispered the last part.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost," Graham said.

"It's need to know, Sheriff, and all you need to know is that Miss Blanchard's gonna bail her out."

"You are? Why?" Emma asked.

"I, uh, trust you," Mary Margaret said.

"Well, if you could uncuff me," she says as she brings her wrists up so Graham can take them off. "I have something to do."

Later, Henry and Jacob were walking around town as Emma did the something she said she would do. Neither of the two knew what she was doing.

"So, do you believe me about the curse yet?" Henry asked him.

"Uh, I don't know, I haven't really read the book yet."

"I can let you borrow it if you want."

"It's fine." He looked at his watch. "Hey, uh, what time did you say you had to meet your mom at?"

"Five o'clock."

"It's 4:50, you should get going."

"You're right. See you tomorrow!" Henry started walking towards the Mayor's office as Jacob walked towards the forest again.

 **NEXT TIME: Snow Falls**


	4. Snow Falls

Jacob was at Granny's diner, eating his usual breakfast with hot chocolate with cinnamon. He was going to the hospital later. Mary Margaret told him that she's taking her class to decorate part of the hospital with "Get Well" decorations, and she invited him to help. He agreed, since he would be doing something good. As he ate, Ruby was cleaning the tables. Apart from him, there was no one else in the place.

"So how are you doing, Jacob? Remember anything yet?" she asked him.

"Nope. Still nothing. Hate it, though. I hate not remembering anything," he said.

"I'm sorry about that. You'll get your memories back someday."

"I hope so." He finished eating his food, so he got off the stool he was sitting in and started walking to the door. "I gotta go. I'm going to the hospital to help Mary Margaret Blanchard's class with decorations."

"Aww, that's nice. Well, have fun." He walked out the door and started walking to the hospital.

"Jacob, you made it!" said Mary Margaret when Jacob arrived at the hospital.

"Yeah, there's no way I would miss this." He smiled at her, then he suddenly felt someone hug him from behind. He turned around and smiled when he saw Henry there. "Well, hello there, Henry."

"Hey. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Miss Blanchard invited me. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No. Just wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well, come on, you two. Get to decorating," said Mary Margaret. Jacob chuckled and started helping with the decorations.

Sometime later, Jacob found Henry in the ICU at the bedside of a coma patient. Jacob recognized him from when he woke up several weeks earlier. Curious, he walked in the room. "Hey, Henry, what are you doing in here?"

"Just wondering if he'll ever wake up."

"I'm sure he will. I did."

"Yeah, but that was about 3 weeks ago."

"Henry, don't worry. He'll wake up someday. It could be today, maybe tomorrow. Who knows? But he will wake up."

Henry started to go and touch the patient's face when the door opened and Mary Margaret stood there. "Henry, we could really use your help with the decorations. You too, Jacob."

"Is Mr. Doe going to be okay Miss Blanchard?" asked Henry.

"His name's not John Doe, honey. That's just what they call people when they don't know who they are."

"Do you know who he is?"

"Nope. I just bring him flowers on my rounds."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. He's been like this as long as I've been volunteering."

"Does he have any family or friends?"

"No one's claimed him."

"So he's all alone. Like Jacob."

"No, not like Jacob. He has you. But yes, it's quite sad."

"You sure you don't know him?"

"Course I'm sure. Now, come on, you shouldn't be in here." The three of them then left the room. Jacob noticed Henry looked back at the patient for a few seconds.

Later, he and Henry were at the castle playground with Emma. Henry was looking for something in the book. Jacob assumed he was looking for the John Doe they saw earlier. His assumption was proved right when Henry landed on a page and showed it to Emma. "I found your father, Prince Charming."

"Henry…" she started saying.

"He's in the hospital. In a coma. See the scar?" He points to a scar on the page. "He has one too."

"So? Lots of people have scars."

"In the same place? Don't you see what this means? The curse is keeping them apart with the coma. Now they're stuck without each other. We have to tell Miss Blanchard we found her Prince Charming."

"Okay, kid. Telling someone their... soul mate is in a coma is probably not helpful. Not having a happy ending is painful enough, but giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse."

"But what if I'm right? We know who they are, now they have to know."

"And how do you intend to make that happen?"

"By reminding him. We have to get her to read their story to John Doe. Then, maybe, he'll remember who he is."

Jacob noticed Emma looked like she was thinking about it. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, we'll do it. But we do it my way. Let me ask her."

"Okay!"

"We'll meet at Granny's tomorrow for breakfast and she'll give us her report, okay?"

"Okay. Well, I'm going home. You coming, Jacob?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." He smiled. Henry gave Emma his book to give to Mary Margaret, then started pulling Jacob with him. He waved to Emma as he was being pulled. "Henry, you need to drag me. I can walk by myself."

Henry let go. "Sorry. So, what do you want to do?"

Jacob felt his stomach growl. "I'm hungry. How about Granny's?"

"Sure!" Jacob couldn't help but smile. He thought Henry was a bit adorable for a 10 year old. "So, do you remember anything yet?"

"Sadly, still no. The only thing that seems even remotely familiar is this." He takes off his small necklace and shows it to Henry.

"A dreamcatcher?"

"Yeah."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Mr. Gold's shop," he said slowly when he realized something. "Shoot."

"What?"

"He let me have it for free, but he said I'm gonna have to temporarily work for him to repay it. I should've started yesterday, but I forgot. I'll go after I get something to eat." Henry hands him the necklace back and he puts it back on.

When they entered Granny's, Jacob ordered a hamburger and a hot chocolate, while Henry just ordered a hot chocolate. Jacob tried eating as fast as he could without choking on the food. "So, Henry, I have yet to read the book."

"You mean you believe in the Curse?" Henry asked, sounding hopeful.

"No, not yet. I mean, it sounds like a fairy-tale, which it pretty much is, and I have amnesia. You'd probably expect someone with amnesia to believe just about anything. What made you believe in it?"

When Miss Blanchard first gave it to me, she told me that fairy-tales are a reminder that our lives will get better if we hold onto hope. I then imagined her as Snow White in her wedding dress."

"Wow. That's honestly slightly weird." He finished eating his food. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, Henry," he said as he stood up.

"Okay, bye, Jacob." Jacob smiled and ruffled Henry's hair as he walked out and towards Mr. Gold's shop. He hoped Mr. Gold would forgive him for forgetting about yesterday.

After a few minutes of walking, he arrived and opened the door, the bell attached to the frame ringing. "You're late," said Mr. Gold as the door closed.

"I am so sorry. I got distracted and forgot about yesterday. You can have me work an extra day."

"That's alright. You're young. You're bound to forget stuff here and there."

"Thank you, Mr. Gold."

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again. But, for now, you can start by sweeping the floor." He handed Jacob a broom. "If you need me, I'll be in the back room." He walked to the back room, leaving Jacob alone.

Sighing in relief, he started sweeping. As he swept, he took notice of the all the items that were on display. He was creeped out by a couple of weird looking puppets. After half an hour, he finally finished. He stuck his head in the back room. "Uh, Mr. Gold, I'm done sweeping."

"Good. You may leave. You're done for the day."

"Really? I've only been here for half an hour."

"I did say I wanted you to start. Do you want more work?"

"N-no, I'm good. I can wait till tomorrow. Enjoy your evening, Mr. Gold."

"You too. Now, if you excuse me, I have important work to do."

Jacob left the shop. He checked his watch. It was only 6 o'clock. He decided to walk around the forest again. He finds it quiet in there, and it helps him think. There's also a small sense of familiarity of it to him, just like his necklace. He didn't know what it was, but it was like he was being drawn towards it.

As he walked around, he wondered if he had any family who were looking for him. It made him sad that he didn't know. He looked around to make sure no one was around to see or hear him before he sat down against a tree and started crying. "How long am I gonna have to live like this?" he asked himself. He felt like he was never going to get his memories back.

The next morning, he woke up against the tree from last night. He had fallen asleep while still in the forest. Remembering to meet Henry and Emma at Granny's, he started walking there.

When he got there, the first thing he heard was the voice of Henry. "Jacob! You made it! Why are you still in your clothes from yesterday? And why is there a leaf in your hair?"

Confused, he put a hand on his hair and felt a leaf like Henry said. He pulled it out and threw it on the ground. "I, uh, accidentally fell asleep in the forest last night."

He sat down as Henry said "How do you accidentally fall asleep in the forest?"

"I just did. By the way, where's Emma?"

"Changing into one of my mom's shirts."

"Wait, what?"

"I gave her one cause she needed it."

As if talking about her summoned her, Emma walks over and sits down. "Hey, Jacob. Thanks for the shirt, Henry. Is this your mother's?"

Henry just smiled. "She'll never notice."

"I doubt that," Jacob said.

"Where does she think you are, anyway?" Emma asked.

"Playing Whac-A-Mole."

"And she bought that?"

"She wants to believe it, so she does."

"That doesn't surprise me," Jacob said.

"Oh, imagine that." Emma says as the bell to the door rings. Jacob turns around and sees Mary Margaret.

"She's here," Henry says, sounding hopeful.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up. We're just getting started, okay?" Emma tells Henry.

As soon as Mary Margaret sat down, she spoke. "He woke up."

If Jacob was drinking something, he probably would've choked on it in surprise. "What?" both he and Emma said at once.

"I knew it," Henry said.

"I mean, he didn't "wake up" wake up, but he grabbed my hand."

"He's remembering!"

"What did the doctor say?" Emma asked.

"That I imagined it, but I'm not crazy. I know it happened."

"We have to go back. You have to read to him again."

Mary Margaret started getting out of the seat. "Let's go."

"Wait, wait, what?" Emma said.

"If I got through to him...If we made a connection…"

"You don't believe…"

"That he's Prince Charming? Of course not. Somehow, someway, I touched him." After saying that, the four of them left and made their way to the hospital.

When they get there, they see several people in the room where the comatose patients go in. Jacob could tell something was wrong, cause the sheriff was there. He started walking towards them as Henry said "You're right. He's waking up."

"Henry, you should stay back," Graham said.

"What's going on? Is it John Doe? Is he okay?" asked Mary Margaret.

"He's missing."

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Regina, who just saw them. She looked at Henry. "And you, I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?"

"What happened to John Doe? Did someone take him?" Mary Margaret asked.

"We don't know yet. His IV's were ripped out, but there's no sign for sure there was a struggle," Graham answered.

"What did you do?" Henry asked Regina.

"You think I had something to do with this?"

"It is curious that the mayor is here," Emma.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact."

"You know him?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I found him, on the side of the road with no ID. I brought him here."

"Mayor Mills saved his life," said Dr. Whale, who just joined them.

"Will he be okay?" Mary Margaret asked him.

"Okay? The man's been on feeding tubes for years on constant supervision. He needs to get back here right away, or, quite honestly, "okay" might be a pipe dream."

"Well then, let's quit yapping and start looking," Emma says.

"That's what we're doing? Just stay out of this, dear. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son away from you," Regina says as she grabs Henry. "Enjoy my shirt, because that's all you're getting. Sheriff, find John Doe. You heard Dr. Whale. Time is precious." She leaves with Henry.

"Doctor, how long between your rounds since you last saw him?" Graham asked Dr. Whale.

"Twelve hours or so."

"Then that's what we need to account for."

"While all of you check the security tapes, I'm gonna go in the forest to look for him. There's a possibility he went there," Jacob said.

"Who said you were helping?" Emma asked him.

"I did. I'm helping cause I was in his position, more or less. Now go, I'll be fine on my own." Before anyone could answer, he turned around and left.

Some time later, he was going through the forest, and he's found no sign of the John Doe. He's looked almost everywhere. The only place he hasn't checked yet is the Toll Bridge. He started heading there. When he was near, he heard Mary Margaret. "Where is he? Can you see him?"

"The trail ends at the water line," Graham said. Jacob looked at where they were looking and saw the man in the water. He quickly ran over to him as the others got to him.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Mary Margaret says as they pull the man onto shore.

"I need an ambulance! At the old Toll Bridge, as soon as possible."

"No, no, no, no, no! No, no, no! I found you!"

"It's going to be okay," Emma said.

"Help's coming." Graham told them.

"Is he okay?" Henry asked.

"Henry…" Emma started.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Henry, don't look. Okay? Don't look."

"Come back to us. Come back to me," Mary Margaret whispered. She started doing CPR on him. The second she put her mouth on his, he started coughing and spitting out water.

"You saved me," he said after a few seconds.

"She did it. She did it! She woke him up," Henry said, happy.

"Yeah, kid, she did," Emma said.

"Thank you," the man says.

"Who are you?" Mary Margaret asks him.

"I don't know."

"It's okay. You're going to be okay."

They were now outside the man's room, whom his wife, Kathryn, called David. Jacob was sitting in a chair. He wasn't paying attention to what everyone else was saying, but he caught stuff here and there. David also had amnesia. Jacob could tell when he said he didn't know who he was. He wondered if David would get his memories back before him. He suddenly wanted to go for a walk and clear his head. He stood up and started walking, but was stopped by Henry. "Jacob, where are you going?"

He turned around and sighed. "I'm sorry, Henry. I've just got a lot of stuff on my mind, and I want to go clear my head. I'm glad David is okay, but I just need to go. I'll see you tomorrow." He ruffled Henry's hair again and left.

By the time he got back to his room at Granny's Inn, he felt mostly better. He felt calm again. He laid down on his bed and fell asleep.

 **NEXT TIME: The Price of Gold**


	5. The Price of Gold

Jacob was walking with Emma and Henry to drop Henry off at his school bus. He could tell Henry looked unsure about it, due to the situation with Emma and Regina, and he could understand that. As each day passed, he was slowly disliking Regina more and more because of how she treated Henry and Emma. She didn't treat him any different, since he was friends with both of them. He was also hungry and tired. He didn't get much sleep the previous night, and he woke up late, so he didn't have time to eat before walking with Emma and Henry. After they dropped him off, he was going to go back to Granny's and get some breakfast, then take a nap in his room.

"Are you sure we can be out in the open?" Henry asked Emma.

"Enough sneaking around. If your mom has a problem with me walking you to a school bus, I am more than happy to have that chat," she replied.

"I'd like to see that," Jacob admitted, laughing lightly. Emma gave him a weird look. "Joking. I'm just joking," he said, putting his hands up as if in surrender.

"You're brave. We'll need that for Operation Cobra. Speaking of, do you think we need code names?" Henry asked, ignoring what Jacob said.

"Isn't "cobra" our code name?" Emma said.

"That's the mission. I mean us. I need something to call you."

"Oh, um, well, why don't you just call me Emma for now?"

"I'm fine with just my name too," Jacob said.

"Okay. Well then, I'll see you later, Emma. You too, Jacob." Henry smiles and gets on the bus. As Jacob starts turning around to walk back to Granny's, the sheriff's cop car pulls up next to them, the siren going off for a second. Graham then gets out.

"What's with the siren?" Emma asks him.

"It's so hard to get your attention."

"Well you got it. Are you arresting me again?"

"I'm uh, gonna go," Jacob said and started walking away.

"Actually, Jacob, I want to talk to both of you. I'm thanking the two of you for your help finding that coma patient. We all owe you a depth of gratitude."

"I'm fine, sheriff. I was just helping out. Now I'm gonna go. I haven't eaten yet. It was nice seeing you, though." Before Graham could say anything else to him, Jacob walked away as Emma asked him what she gets for a reward.

Later, he was at Granny's, drinking a hot chocolate. He didn't order any food, since he was too tired to eat. He was slowly falling asleep as he drank. As he's about to finish drinking it, he fell asleep.

"Jacob? Are you okay?" someone said. Jacob jerked awake and sat up. He looked to his right and saw Henry standing there.

Confused, Jacob rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

It was Henry's turn to look confused. "What are you talking about? I just got out."

"Really? What time is it?"

"About 3:30."

"I slept for 6 hours?" he asked, surprised at how much time had passed.

"Yeah, you did. I didn't want to wake you. No one did, in fact," said Ruby, who approached them. "I have to say, you look very peaceful when you sleep." Jacob felt his face heat up from that comment. She just smiled and set two mugs of hot chocolate in front of them. "Here you go." She turned around and went to take other people's orders.

"Thanks, Ruby," he said, still embarrassed. He took a sip and looked at Henry, who was giving him a weird look. "What's with the look?"

"I'm still trying to figure out who you are in my book."

"Henry, I'm not in your book. You said so."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't figure out who you are."

"Yeah, well, I'm still not in the book. Also, we won't be able to hang out much today. I'm going to Mr. Gold's shop so I can continue paying off my necklace."

"I still don't understand why you got it."

"Because it feels a bit familiar to me, even if I still don't have my memories back yet."

"Maybe it's something from your old life in the Enchanted Forest."

"Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell if this curse is real. In order for me to start believing it's real, is if I see some physical proof. And your book won't count."

"Then I guess I'll have to find something." Henry smiled.

He finished drinking his hot chocolate and stood up. "Well I gotta go, Henry. I'll see you tomorrow." He ruffled his hair and exits the diner.

As he's walking, he starts rubbing his eyes. He still felt a bit tired. He doesn't notice where he's going and suddenly bumps into someone. He looks up and sees Mary Margaret standing there. "Oh, Jacob. Hi! How are you?"

"For the most part, good. The other part, not so good. I feel as if I will never get my memories back, and I'm pretty sure I don't have any family, cause if I did, they would have been at the hospital waiting for me when I woke up from my coma."

She puts a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "You will get your memories back. It'll just take some time. It always takes some time for everybody. And as for your family, I'm sure you have one somewhere in this world. You just have to believe."

"Thank you, Miss Blanchard."

"You're welcome." She smiles at him and starts walking away, but she quickly stops and turns back around. "How would you like to have breakfast at my place tomorrow?"

"Uh, sure. I'd like that. Sort of beats eating alone."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then." She smiled again and walked away, leaving Jacob alone. Checking the time on the clock tower, he quickly walked to Mr. Gold's shop.

"You were almost late again," said Mr. G0ld as Jacob opened the door.

"Yeah, I know. I was tired. So what do you want me to do today?"

He watched as Mr. Gold went to the back room and came back with a feather duster. "I want you, to dust everything in this shop." He handed Jacob the duster. He took it and watched as Mr. Gold walked to the back room, leaving Jacob to do his work.

For the next hour, Jacob dusted everywhere he could, being careful not to drop anything that was breakable. After double checking everything just in case he missed something, he peecked his head into the back room. "Uh, Mr. Gold? I'm finished."

"Alright. You may go. Today was your last day. Your debt has now been fulfilled."

"Oh, thank you. Have a nice day." He left the shop, a small smile on his face. Not knowing what to do, he just decided to go for a walk through the forest like he does everyday.

As he walked, he thought to himself. He wondered how after a month after we woke from his coma, why he he hadn't gotten his memories back yet. He had a feeling that David, the other coma patient, would get his memories back before him. It made him feel sad.

Some time later, he decided to go Granny's and get something to eat before going back to his room at the inn. When he arrived at Granny's, he saw that he wasn't hungry, so he just decided to get some hot chocolate with cinnamon. After drinking it, he walked to his room and went to sleep.

The next morning, he woke up a bit early. After he got dressed, he started walking to Mary Margaret's apartment. When he knocked on the door when he got there, Emma opened the door. "Jacob, hi. What are you doing here?"

"Miss Blanchard invited me. I didn't know you were staying here."

"Yeah, it became recent. Come in," she said, opening the door for him. He walked in and saw Mary Margaret cooking.

"That smells good," he said.

"Why, thank you, Jacob. Feel free and take a seat. It's almost done." He sat down at the table and waited. After a couple minutes, she puts a plate of food on the table in front of him.

"Thank you. Could I have some hot chocolate with cinnamon?"

She smiled. "Of course. I'll get it ready." He started eating as she made it and some food for Emma.

Several minutes later, Mary Margaret put some food on a plate and handed it to Emma, who started unpacking her newly arrived stuff. "I'm so glad my stuff is here. Oh, thanks," she said, taking the plate.

"So that is all your stuff?" Mary Margaret asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"Is the rest in storage?"

"No, this is all of it. I'm not sentimental."

"Well, it must make things easier when you have to move." As she's about to sit down, there's a knock on the door. Mary Margaret goes and opens the door, then Mr. Gold enters.

"Miss Blanchard, is Miss Swan here?" Emma walks up to him. "Hi, my name is Mr. Gold. We met briefly on your arrival."

"I remember," she said.

"Good, I have a proposition for you Miss Swan. I need your help. I'm looking for someone."

"Really? Um…" She looks at Mary Margaret, who looks slightly awkward.

"You know what? I am going to jump in the bath." She quickly leaves the room.

"Uh, what about me?" Jacob asked.

"Well maybe you can assist Miss Swan, if she allows it, of course."

"Uh, sure, I guess."

"Good. Now, I have a photo." He hands Emma a picture of a young blonde woman, from what Jacob can see. "Her name is Ashley Boyd, and she's taken something quite valuable of mine."

"So why don't you call the police?"

"Because, uh...she's a confused young woman. She's pregnant, alone, and scared. I don't want to ruin this young girl's life, but I just want my property returned."

"And what is it?"

"Well one of the advantages of you not being the police, is discretion. Let's just say it's a precious object, and leave it at that."

"When did you see her last?"

"Last night, that's how I got this," he shows a small gash on his forehead, "it's so unlike her. She was quite wound up, rambling on and on about changing her life. I have no idea what got into her, Miss Swan, please just help me find her. My only other choice is the police, and I don't think anyone wants to see that baby born in jail, now do they?"

"No, of course not."

"So you'll help me then?"

"I'll help her."

"Grand."

The door opens again and Henry enters. "Hey, Emma, I was thinking we…" He stops when he sees Mr. Gold.

"Hey Henry. How are you?" he asks Henry.

"Okay."

"Good. Give my regards to your mother, and good luck, Miss Swan." He exits the apartment and closes the door.

"Do you know who that is?" Henry asks.

"Yeah, of course I do," Emma says.

"Who? Cause I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Oh, I meant in reality."

Henry sees Emma's stuff. "Is that all you brought?"

"Henry, what are you doing here?"

"My mom's gone till 5:00. I thought we could hang out."

"Aw, kid, I wish I could, but there's something I gotta do." She starts digging through her boxes. "I have to find a pregnant maid. You coming, Jacob?"

He finishes drinking his hot chocolate. "Yep."

"Why does he get to go with you?" Henry asks.

"Well, he's older, and in my opinion, understands more than you."

"I understand just as much as him."

"He also helped find David."

"So did I!

"Henry, stop arguing, and just go home." The three of them exit the apartment and start heading towards Emma's car.

"Please let me help," Henry says.

"No, no it could be dangerous."

"The pregnant maid is dangerous?"

"She assaulted Mr. Gold."

"Cool." Jacob couldn't help but chuckle, but luckily neither Henry or Emma noticed.

"This isn't a game. She's desperate."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know."

"Well, then let's find her."

"Oh, no no no no. There is no 'let's', You cannot come with me."

"Then I'll look for her myself."

"Then I'll find you and bring you back."

"Then you wouldn't be helping the maid."

"I am just trying to be responsible here."

"And I'm just trying to spend time with you." He opens the door and starts getting in the car.

"Oh, that is really not fair," she also gets in the car, with Jacob in the back.

"So, the maid. What's her story?"

Later, they were at Granny's. They were going to talk to Ruby, who happened to be a friend of Ashley. They were outside, where a tow truck was towing Ruby's car.

"So, this boyfriend of hers, you don't think he was involved in her disappearance?" Emma asked her.

"Uh, that would mean that he was involved with her at all, which he isn't. He left her in the lurch right after they found out they were expecting. Hasn't spoken to her since. Like I said he's a…" The truck accidentally drops her car. "Hey, hey, hey Billy, be careful. You almost shattered my wolf thing, Billy. It's good luck." Jacob noticed that the wolf was red. It reminded him of Little Red Riding Hood.

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but look, it's fine," Billy said.

"Um, Ruby, what about her family?"

"Oh, um she's got a stepmom and two stepsisters that she doesn't talk to."

"Wait, stepmom, stepsisters, and she's a maid?" Henry said.

"Henry, not now," Emma told him.

"Look, I don't know what you've heard, but it's wrong. Everyone thinks she's not ready to have this kid, but she's trying, taking night classes, trying to better herself, trying to get her life together. Can you understand that?" Ruby asked.

"I think so."

"Then maybe you should just stay out of it. She's been through enough already."

"I've been through it too, Ruby, and I can help her."

"Then try her ex."

"Where can I find him?"

"He lives with his dad."

"And where does he live?"

Later, they're pulling up next to the house where Ashley's ex and his dad live. Before, she gets out of the car, she looks at Henry and Jacob. "You two stay in here. I'll only be a couple minutes." She gets out of the car and goes to the front door and knocks.

They watch as a young man opens the door and he and Emma talk. After a minute, the man's father arrives and walks to the door, also talking to Emma. After another minute, Emma comes back to the car and gets in. She starts the car and starts driving.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Jacob asked.

"She made a deal with Mr. Gold to give up the baby. And she wants to keep it, so I'm going to help her."

"You can't make her double-cross Gold. No one's ever broken a deal with him."

"Happy to be the first. If Ashley wants to have this baby, she should have it. Anyone who wants to be a mother should damn well be allowed to be one." They pull back up at Granny's and go inside to talk to Ruby again. "Why didn't you tell me she sold the baby?" she asks her.

"Because I didn't think it was important."

"Really, considering that's why she's running away?"

"Look, Ashley's my friend. I don't like the idea of people judging her."

"Do you see us judging here?" Jacob asked. He notices that Emma saw Ruby's glass wolf.

"Ruby, where's your car? You didn't send me to Sean to find her, you sent me there to give her a head start."

"Look, I'm only trying to help her."

"Yeah, so am I. Ashley's in more trouble than you know, Ruby. Where is she? Don't make her deal with Gold without me."

"I can't talk in front of him. He's the mayor's kid," she said, referring to Henry.

"Hey, I'm on your side," he said.

Emma bends down and whispers to Henry. "Henry, I need to find this woman, and in order to do that, I need you to go home, okay? So please listen to me, seriously. She's not gonna tell me anything if you're around."

"Okay."

"Thank you." Henry turns around and exits the diner.

"She left town. Said she was gonna try Boston. Thought she could disappear there."

"How long ago did she leave?"

"About a half an hour."

Emma and Jacob leave and get back to her car. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asks him.

"I'm sure. It's not like there's anyone who'll worry about me anyway."

"Okay, then. Buckle up." They get in the car and start driving.

After several minutes, Henry sits up in the back seat. "What did she tell you?"

Emma and Jacob jumped slightly from that, since they didn't know he was back there. "Henry! What the hell? I am going to Boston, you can't come with me," Emma said.

"You can't go to Boston, she can't leave! Bad things happen to anyone that does."

"I don't have time to argue with you over the curse. I've got to get you home."

"We have to stop her before she gets hurt. We're wasting time. If you drop me off, you'll never catch up to her."

"Henry…"

"And then Mr. Gold will call the police, and he'll have her sent to jail."

Emma sighs. "Buckle up. Ashley, what did you get yourself into?"

As they near the town border, Henry points at Ruby's car, which is on the side of the road, broken down. "I told you. It's her car." They pull up next to the car and get out. They find that it's empty.

"Ashley?" Emma calls out.

They suddenly hear a scream of someone in pain. They follow the sound and find Ashley sitting on the ground, her hands on her stomach. "My baby. It's coming."

They help her get in the car, then get in themselves and start driving to the hospital. "Is the baby really coming?" Henry asks after a couple minutes.

"Oh yeah." She then talks to Ashley. "Don't worry. The hospital isn't that far."

"No, no, no, no, take me to Boston. I can't go back there."

"Oh, no we don't have four hours, trust me. I know."

"I can't go back there, please." She starts crying. "He's gonna take my baby."

"I won't let that happen, but do you know what you're asking for? If you keep this child are you really ready?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure? Because I wasn't."

"You weren't?"

"Nope. If you want to give this kid its best chance, it's gonna be with someone who's ready, so know what that means. Your whole life is gonna change, and once you decide that it's yours, this running away can't happen. You have to grow up, and you can't ever leave. Understand?"

"Yes. I want my baby."

They arrive at the hospital. They once again help Ashley get inside and to a doctor. After a doctor comes and helps, the three of them wait in the waiting room.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Henry asks Jacob.

"Henry, she's giving birth, she's not going in surgery or anything. Of course she's going to be okay."

"Jacob, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you think that you do have a family somewhere, but that they just don't know what's happened to you?"

"Honestly, no. And I also don't think I will ever get my memories back. I've been awake for about a month, and nothing's happened yet."

"You'll get them back, it may just take longer than you think."

He made a small smile. "I hope so, Henry."

Henry stands up and walks to Emma. "You know, Emma, you're different."

"What's that?"

"You're the only one who can do it."

"Break the curse? Yes, I know. You keep telling me that."

"No, leave. You're the only one who can leave Storybrooke."

"You left and came and found me in Boston."

"But I came back. I'm ten. I had no choice, but if anyone else tried to go, bad things would happen."

"Anyone, except me?"

"You're the savior. You can do whatever you want. You can go."

A nurse walks in and approaches Emma. Jacob stands and joins them. "Ms. Swan, the baby is a healthy six-pound girl, and the mother is doing fine." Jacob smiled at the news.

"What lovely news. Excellent work, Ms. Swan. Thank you for bringing me my merchandise," says Mr. Gold, who has just joined them. Jacob grabbed Henry and sat back down, since he knew Emma would want to talk to him alone. He just watches the two talk for a couple minutes. When they were done, Emma walked back to them. "Hey, wanna see how Ashley's doing?"

"Of course." He and Henry stood up and followed Emma to the bed where Ashley was laying in, holding her newborn daughter.

"Hey, what's her name?" Emma asked her.

Ashley smiled. "Alexandra."

"That's pretty."

"She's adorable," Jacob said.

"Thank you. And thank you, Emma, for getting me here."

"Mr. Gold was outside. I took care of it. She's yours."

"She is? But what did you do?"

"Made a deal with him."

"Thank you, thank you," she said happily.

Emma looks at the clock. "Oh, hey kid, it's almost 5:00. You gotta get home." The three of them quickly leave the hospital.

""Pumpkin". My code name. I was thinking in honor of Cinderella... "Pumpkin."" Henry shakes his head. "You got a better one in mind?"

"Yep."

"Well?"

"I'm not sure you're ready yet," he says as they arrive at the house. Henry gets out of the car and starts heading inside.

"Henry!" Henry stops and looks at Emma. "About what you said at the hospital, about me being able to leave?"

"Yeah?"

Emma smiles. "See you tomorrow." Henry smiled back and ran inside as Emma drove off. "So, Jacob, where do you want me to drop you off?"

"Uh, Granny's. I'm hungry."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow as well," she said as he got out of the car when they arrived.


End file.
